Dog bite in a newborn infant Questions and answers for the management

Here we present the case of a 13-day-old newborn who was bitten by the family dog and arrived at our clinic by ambulance. In order to clarify the injury in the right parietal region of the head, a CT scan was performed, which did not confirm brain injury or bone damage, but penetrated through the coronal suture to the level of the dura mater. After his admission to the department, combined antibiotic therapy was commenced, wound treatment was managed openly. During the observation period, no systemic infection developed, and the child's general condition and laboratory values improved. A control imaging study was not necessary. Based on infectious disease consultations, we administered Clostridium tetani prophylaxis, the administration of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis was not required by protocol. The purpose of our case report is to shed light on the complexity of this unusual case both in terms of surgical and infectious care and to hopefully provide assistance in the care of similar cases in the future.